What is a midwife? A midwife is a trained professional, an expert in individualized care, and a trusted friend. A midwife can be of any ethnic background, color, or religion, but midwives are usually women. A midwife provides prenatal care and will remain with you throughout your labor and birth and follow up with postpartum care.
In North Carolina midwives come from a variety of educational backgrounds. Some are Registered Nurses who also have an advanced education in women's health, known as Certified Nurse Midwives; some are midwives with extensive training and certification in out-of-hospital births, known as Certified Professional Midwives, and some are midwives that have learned the art of midwifery through hands on training that is passed from generation to generation, they are known as traditional midwives. Although midwives are trained in a variety of ways, you must remember that one midwife is not necessarily more advanced, or a better midwife based solely on her classification.
Although you may have an idea of what a midwife is supposed to be, you may be surprise to learn that midwives are as diverse as the clients who hire them! There are incense burning, New Age midwives, there are very conservative Protestant midwives, and there are hippy Protestant midwives and midwives representing other religions and beliefs. In other words, if you are one that believes you can’t judge a book by its cover, but know a midwife by her shoes, you will be surprised to know there are Birkenstock, Nurse Mate,and Reebok wearing midwives out there!
